Waterview Tunnel

Client

Auckland City Council

Location

Auckland

Completion date

2017

The Waterview Connection is Auckland's most significant transportation Project since the opening of the Harbour Bridge in 1959. The Western Ring Route will be a 48km motorway that bypasses central Auckland to the west. It will provide an alternative to State Highway 1 for north/south travel through the region as well as more efficient connections between Auckland’s business and employment hubs.

The Waterview Connection is a NZ Transport Agency project to complete Auckland’s Western Ring Route by building the missing link between the Southwestern (SH 20) and the Northwestern (SH 16) motorways.

Construction began in late 2011 and involves the construction of two parallel 2.5 km road tunnels using a 14 metre Tunnel Boring Machine.

Completing the Western Ring Route is one of the Government’s Roads of National Significance projects due to the major contribution it will make to growing Auckland as a prosperous and liveable city.

Our Brief

Marshall Day Acoustics was the primary Acoustic Consultant on the Project, managing noise and vibration issues through the concept design, notification, developed design and consenting stages, including the Board of Inquiry hearing.

The $1.3b Waterview Connection is the largest and most ambitious roading project ever undertaken in New Zealand. It involves:

Building two 2.4km long, 13.1m diameter bored tunnels, each of which will carry three lanes of traffic

Connecting the tunnels to the existing motorway network – SH 20 to the south and SH 16 to the north

Building six new road bridges

Building new recreational facilities including sports fields, skateparks and basketball courts

Challenges

Preparation for the start of tunnelling has involved a significant amount of rock breaking close to residential areas. This has challenged the project to stay within its construction noise limits.

At the northern (Waterview) end of the project, work requires construction of new ramps to connect the new motorway to State Highway 16. This photographs shows construction of the columns that will support the raised ramps.